Category Archives: leadership

It’s Lonely at the Top and It’s Crowded

Three non-profit heads walk into a bar …

Well, not exactly, although that might have given us a different perspective. My coach, my client and I all share the same dilemma. We each head a non-profit. And we each find ourself drowning under the weight of the position.

These are small non-profits, two with working Boards, one closer to the formative state and not quite ready for a full Board. All three of us are suffering from the Harry Truman syndrome, though – the buck stops here. Remember that old adage about stuff rolling downhill? Well, that’s not always true. Many small non-profits defy the laws of gravity. Work rolls uphill and lands squarely on the desk of the Founder or Chair or President. There are committee chairs and officers who may or may not play their assigned roles. There may be a cadre of volunteers. And still, there are too many projects on my plate. And my client’s plate.

My coach has found a partial solution. She she has an excellent virtual assistant She’s appointed a general manager and a project manager. These two people have the responsibility for organizing how the work of the organization gets done and tracking progress. It’s a good starting place. My client and I are discussing the advantages of hiring a virtual assistant while the client looks for the perfect right-hand person. I have an excellent virtual assistant.

Still, it comes right back to how we organize, what we delegate and how we follow through – the same issues faced by most managers. Here are a few thoughts:

1. Heads of organizations need to be divorced from the day-to-day operational aspects of the organization for the most part. They need to strategize and to be a public presence. They need to make contacts, maintain smooth relationships, instill a sense of mission. They do not need to do the scheduling, bookkeeping, collating and editing.

2. Even small non-profits need an operations or a project manager. Someone needs to track progress, find support as needed, and do follow-up work with committees. They, too, do not need to do the scheduling, bookkeeping, collating and editing. They should, however, supervise the people who do these tasks. The head person should not take on this role too.

3. A good virtual assistant saves endless hours. A good virtual assistant is great at all the things that a leader either isn’t good at or shouldn’t be doing. It’s time to get beyond the notion that VAs are some kind of disembodied clericals. Many are eager to understand the organization’s mission and become an external partner. They can not only keep things off the leader’s desk, they can also give valuable advice on systems and processes that will move the organization forward.

4. Volunteers need to keep their commitments. Every time. No exceptions. (See work rolling uphill.)

5. Someone other than the leader should be following up with committee chairs and volunteers to be sure they are making deadlines. (See project manager above.)

6. Leaders need to learn to sit on their hands. Just because you have a good idea, it doesn’t mean that you have to implement it.

7. Projects, assignments, etc. should all go out with due dates and interim reporting dates so that they can be tracked.

8. If crowded means your desk, your office, your inbox, your brain is/are crowded with other people’s responsibilities, learn to delegate and stick to it.

9. Sometimes, lonely is better.

Excuse me – I’m going off to take my own advice now.

The Shining Hope Community is Changing the World – One Community at a Time

When I first met Jessica Posner, two years ago, and heard about Shining Hope for Communities, I was amazed by what the organization was accomplishing in Kibera, the biggest and worst slum in Nairobi, Kenya. I was even more amazed that this work was being done by 20-something Jessica Posner and Kennedy Odede. Working together, they fulfilled Kennedy’s dream of creating a school for girls.

Fast forward two short years. Kennedy has graduated from Wesleyan University. He and Jessica have married. The first tuition-free school for girls is just one project provided by this organization that provides a wide range of services to the Kibera community, including the Johanna Justin-Jinich Community Clinic, the Shining Hope Community Center that provides women’s empowerment programs, youth programs, adult education and job training, and library – and more. They have also created a toilet access program, a clean water program and gardens.

Shining Hope is saving lives. Jessica and Kennedy have created a sustainable model for helping people at a local level in ways that work for their community. In 2010, Jessica was named America’s Top World-Changer 25 and Under.

Jessica and Kennedy Odede are amazing people – modest and driven to change the world one community at a time. Can you imagine where they will be ten years from now? How this model will grow and spread to other slums? How many lives are not only saved but expanded through their work?

I told Jessica that I want to be her when I grow up. I can’t go back to change the course of my 20-something self, but I can spread the word about Shining Hope. And I can contribute to their work. Here’s a link if you would like to contribute too.

Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

The third cycle of coaching with a big municipal agency is coming to a close slowly, as the May end turned into a flood of last-minute make-up appointments that will run through June.

A few minutes ago I said farewell to another client who, after a slightly slow start turned out to make more and more significant changes than any of the other participants. I will miss her. I’ll miss her bursts of insight and the calls where she coached herself so effectively that all I needed to do was offer the occasional word of encouragement.

I’ll miss the guy who started with off-the-charts blood pressure and cholesterol counts who , in his newly calm state is laughing at situations that used to send him into a fury.

I’ll miss the client I knew from a past career who is becoming a friend and another client who I’ve bonded so strongly with that I can’t imagine not staying connected to.

I’ll miss the ones who kept canceling their appointments. I’ll miss the ones who were always late to call. And the ones who could never think of something to talk about but wanted to keep trying.

Fifteen vibrant, interesting men and women will be leaving my weekly life by the end of June. After six months, how could they not have changed me? I’m a better coach for having conversations with each of them.

In September, there will be a new group, different yet the same. I’m imagining the wave of change that is moving through the organization now that over a hundred men and women go on to create their own coaching cultures. And I smile.

How’s Your Vision?

I’m thinking about vision today because I’ve just rediscovered Leading People: the 8 proven principles for success in business.

Rosen’s eight principles: Vision, Trust, Participation, Learning, Diversity, Integrity and Community are a great basis for leadership excellence. As the workplace becomes increasingly complex, the economy remains uncertain, workloads increase and stress levels rise, these are important principles.

These are also important principles for coaches and as I revisit them I wonder how I can continue to incorporate them in my coaching work with executive managers and how I can interpret them through the lens of the nine *IAC Masteries®. That will be a challenge over the next few weeks – one that I will be sharing here and at Expanding Your Comfort Zone. So, here goes ….

Leadership – at work or in your own life – can be daunting at best. I don’t see how it’s possible at all without a clear vision. A favorite quote is

If you don’t know where you’re going, you’re liable to end up somewhere else.

This seems true in all aspects of life, and especially in leadership. How can you move others forward – help them achieve their best – if you don’t have a clear picture of the end-point? How can you hope to achieve your personal goals if you don’t have a clear vision of what you want?

In one of the best strategic moves I’ve seen, a large non-profit took almost a year to work on their vision statement. Every department was asked to submit vision statements. A group worked with all the statements to create a single statement that reflected what was most important: (We are) a kaleidoscope: reframing relationships, embracing change, creating opportunities.

At an agency-wide kick-off, each staff member was given a kaleidoscope. Then the real work began.  Every unit went back and created their own personal version of the vision. These were posted alongside the Agency vision at every location. For these people, there was no guessing about the vision, the overall direction. One had only to look at the wall. Every day, planning could start with that vision. Every leader and every staff member could start their day asking, “How will I live our vision today?”

Almost every personal development source begins with creating a vision. It’s a constant theme in Mike Dooley’s work. In Manifesting Matisse, Dr. Michelle Nielsen suggests creating small vision boards that can be taped up all over the house or office so that you can always see your vision. This makes it very easy to think of what steps you might be taking in any moment to move i the right direction. (Don’t leave the ACTION out of the Law of AttrACTION!)

As coaches, that same question might inform our preparation for every client meeting. What’s my vision? How will that inform the way I work today? How will it help me help my clients achieve their vision? It’s just one of the many ways we can bring the Masteries® to life.

*Learn more about the Masteries® at the International Association of Coaching site.